When I was in school, I heard many a time that millions of people from different caste live in India with great joy and happiness. But as I started growing up, I realised this was hardly the case. One of the things which shattered me most was untouchability. I first thought it possibly couldn’t exist in the 21st century. And then I had this brutal realisation.
I honestly feel that one person is upper or lower caste only by their thoughts and actions. Once, I had recommended a barber to two of my closest friends and they said they couldn’t go to him because he was a Dalit. I was shell-shocked, but thankfully, after a long-drawn discussion, I succeeded in changing their thought process.
Part of their anger stemmed from the topic of reservation but how else do we guarantee a fair shot to people who have been discriminated against for centuries together. Any kind of anger and hate against Dalits are completely unacceptable and we as a society must need to curb on it.
Only recently 17 people were booked for pelting stones at a groom from a Dalit background in Mahidpur tehsil of Ujjain district. The attackers claimed that riding a horse was an honour only reserved for the upper class. Such instances only highlight our collective failure as a society.
According to me, to curb on untouchability we must need to give good and practical education to our kids. Education is the only medium which can curb untouchability. Most educated people know better than to discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, religion or sex. Our literacy rate is improving year by year but we are not improving in giving a practical knowledge and education that’s why untouchability still exists on a mass level.